Teak

Teak, common name for a tall, deciduous timber tree, of the verbena family. The tree, which attains a height of about 30 m (about 100 ft), is native to India and the Malay Archipelago and is cultivated in the Philippine Islands and Java. The bluish to white flowers are arranged in terminal panicles, or clusters. The fruit is a drupe. Because of its durability and strength, teakwood is used throughout the world as lumber in shipbuilding. In the tropics, the wood is used primarily for the construction of furniture; teak furniture has been known to resist the attacks of insects and the corrosive effects of weather for hundreds of years. Substitutes for teak, which have been under extensive cultivation because of the increasing demand, are loosely termed teaks. African teak, or African oak, is a hardwood tree of the spurge family.

The world’s oldest teak plantation, called Conolly’s Plot, is located in Nilambur, India, on the Malabar Coast. The plantation was started in the mid-1800s by British Magistrate Henry Valentine Conolly and forester Chanthu Menon as a means of creating a stable supply of teak wood for Britain. The Teak Museum at Nilambur chronicles the history of the tree and explores its scientific and artistic uses. A teak tree thought to be the largest living specimen can be found at Parambikulam Wild Life Sanctuary in the district of Pālghāt, India.

Scientific classification: The teak tree belongs to the family Verbenaceae. It is classified as Tectona grandis. The African teak, or African oak, is classified as Oldfieldia africana.